


Solemnly swear you are up to no good

by megyal



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 09:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megyal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Harry Potter Crossover/AU) Iruka, 6th year Gryffindor, is asked to tutor a new, mysterious student, Kakashi Hatake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Solemnly swear you are up to no good

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mangareaderrad](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=mangareaderrad).



> Written for the KakaIru Fest 2013 Winter Exchange Round! Thanks to Niko and Margot for the beta; they are awesome. I was so delighted to read the Harry Potter crossover prompt, you cannot imagine. I even made up a table to sort out who would go into which house!

**King's Cross Station**

Iruka got to Platform 9-¾ by gripping his mother's arm very tightly. The silky material of her robes served as a focal point for Iruka as they travelled; if he didn't concentrate on a little detail like that, he'd probably throw up. They arrived on the Platform with hardly a pop, a point of pride for Tomoko Umino.

"Here we are," she said, turning to look at Iruka with a wide smile. Her teeth were very white against her dark skin. "Ready for sixth year?"

Iruka smiled in return. "I suppose I am."

"Ah, step aside for your dad," Tomoko said, and hustled Iruka a few paces to the left. Where they had been standing, Iruka's father appeared in a flurry of displaced air, whirling robes and a disgruntled expression spread over his wide, pale brow. It was a mystery to Iruka, how they did that: knowing exactly where the other would land when Apparating.

"I hope you haven't forgotten anything, Satoru," Tomoko continued, her tone and manner scolding as she hurried back over to her husband. Satoru gave her a look of wide-eyed incredulity, and turned to include Iruka in his disbelieving gaze.

"Iruka has _one trunk_ ," he said, and patted one of his robe-pockets. "How could I have forgotten anything?"

"This, from the man who couldn't recall the location of our wedding," Tomoko said, half-teasingly, tucking a wayward lock of her thick, black hair behind her ear. Satoru's expression morphed into one of towering, comical outrage.

"Will I never live that down?!"

Iruka turned away from his parents' familiar bickering, hiding a smile as he did so. He spotted a few first years with their ties neatly knotted at their throats, boarding the train the way nervous chicks would approach the edge of the nest. One of them, a small girl with lots of flyaway brown hair, glanced at him and then caught sight of the prefect's badge on his chest. She gave him a very tremulous twitch of her lips and Iruka nodded at her in greeting. The firstie froze as if Iruka had called out to her, and she remained rooted to the spot for a few moments. Iruka shook his head slightly, and moved one hand in a brief shooing motion.

She actually jumped a little, and then fled towards the train's open door. At another door, Iruka spotted Asuma and Obito lounging with affected boredom, flanked by Izumo and Kotetsu. Iruka waved at them; Obito and Asuma flapped their hands in a single lazy arc, Izumo gave him a thumbs'-up and Kotestu actually jumped up and down in an enthusiastic demonstration of jumping jacks.

Iruka rolled his eyes, and stifled a smile.

"Iruka!" Satoru pounced away from the conversation with Tomoko, and grasped Iruka by both shoulders, shaking him slightly. Iruka, used to his father's penchant for slightly shaking the people he loved, withstood it with a wrinkle of his nose. "Alright, then. We should be off to the office, now, but remember what we said about beating that Ravenclaw this year, yeah?"

"Da-ad," Iruka sang out, trying to extricate himself from his father's hold. "Kurenai is mad brilliant. Besides, I was first in third and fourth year, wasn't I?"

"Yes and well done," Tomoko said, impatiently. "But--"

"But I'll do my best," Iruka said, keeping his tone firm and calm. His parents were a little overbearing, sometimes. "That's all I've ever done, really."

Satoru released him, narrowing his eyes slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Iruka saw a flash of pale hair out of the corner of his eye and turned reflexively, thinking it was Mizuki trying to sneak up on him.

Instead of his childhood friend, the person with the white hair was a tall man with a stony expression. His nose was long and sharp, and he possessed a very heavy jaw. The man wore the dark cloak of an Auror, a small golden starburst pinned to the left lapel of his robe. He marched towards the Hogwarts' train with determined steps. When he drew up alongside the Iruka and his parents, his slate-grey gaze slid towards them.

"Alright there, Umino," the Auror murmured, encapsulating the entire family with a single name. 

Tomoko said, "Hello, Auror Hatake," and she stared after his back as he stalked towards the train. She glanced at Satoru, who returned a very expressive shrug. Iruka stared after Auror Hatake's rigid back. This was the _Head_ Auror, Sakumo Hatake; to Iruka, he seemed thinner than the photos which appeared in the _Prophet._ As Unspeakables, Iruka's parents were very likely to have contact with the Head Auror, even though Iruka wasn't supposed to know that they _were_ Unspeakables.

Iruka started a little as someone else with a matching shock of silvery hair marched past them with a similar gait as Auror Hatake. This second individual seemed a little older than Iruka, but just as tall and rangy as Hatake. The younger man had a long nose as the Auror, but the line of his jaw seemed a bit more narrow. He glanced at Iruka's family in a distant, dismissive fashion. A black patch covered his left eye, giving him a charming air despite the blankness which resided on his face.

"That's Sakumo's son," Satoru muttered from beside Iruka as they all watched the Auror and the young man board the train. "Hasn't lived much with Sakumo, has he, Tomoko?"

"No, he hasn't," Tomoko answered, the corners of her lips turned down.

"Why?" Iruka asked, looking from one parent to the other. "I didn't know the Head Auror had a son. Why hasn't he lived with his father?"

Tomoko and Satoru exchanged a speaking glance, and then stared at Iruka for a long moment. Iruka stared back, expectant; as a child, he figured that there were certain bits of information that his parents couldn't share with him, and they had to make constant decisions as to what was appropriate to divulge. He trusted that they'd tell him _something,_ though.

"He grew up with his mother," Tomoko finally answered, but Iruka sensed a heaviness in her tone. "In Poland. Or Belarus. Or Germany. Or South Korea."

Iruka felt his eyebrows twitch up in a small increment with every country listed.

"Or Spain," Satoru added. "Or Morocco. Or Syria. Or Uzbekistan."

Iruka held up one hand, blinking rapidly. "Right, fine. I get it."

Tomoko shook her head, but at least she offered a very small smile. "You don't get it, dear. Not yet." She put her arms around Iruka's waist and gave him a quick, fierce squeeze. "Take good care, Ru-Bear."

"Don't call me that!" Iruka hissed in her ear, even as he hugged her tightly as well. "That's a baby name!"

"It's _your_ baby name," Satoru said with a light laugh as he gathered them both in a broad hug. "Fire-call this evening, won't you?"

"I will." Iruka stepped out of the warm circle of their arms. "My trunk?"

Satoru reached into his pocket and retrieved Iruka's travelling trunk, shrunken down to a perfectly tiny shape. He placed it in Iruka's outstretched palm.

"Be good," Satoru told him very seriously. "And if you can't be good, be careful."

Iruka, who had _mostly_ managed to escape detention all his scholastic life, released a heavy scoff. "Oh, for Merlin's sake," he grumbled, but let the sides of his mouth tilt up in a small smile. He made his way to the train, but he didn't stick his head out the window like the firsties, waving at their parents and guardians. His parents had never hung around, anyway; he didn't mind that at all.

+

**On The Train**

The prefects' meeting on the train didn't take that long, really. Possibly due to the fact that this was Iruka's second year as a prefect, and he knew what to expect. At least this year's Head Girl and Head Boy didn't go rambling on like last year's. 

When the prefects had been let out, Iruka walked along the train's narrow corridor as it sped past the low, rambling hills. He glanced into the other cabins as he passed them, smiling a little at the excited chattering of the other students.

He paused when he spotted Auror Hatake's son sitting in a cabin, surrounded by a gaggle of first-years. He was tucked into a shadowy corner, a book held in front of his face. Iruka slid open the door before he even realised he had grabbed the handle and hoped the smile on his face was very mature and reassuring.

"Everything alright in here?" he called out, all friendly-like. "I'm Umino."

The girl he'd seen earlier, the one with the wild brown hair, sat near to the door. She nodded along with the other younger students, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Good. You?" Iruka pitched his voice a little louder, but the Auror's son did not move. "Hey, you. Hatake."

All the firsties' heads snapped around towards the subject of Iruka's attention. Hatake moved the book down a bare increment, and his singular gaze locking onto Iruka the way someone would stab with a sword. Iruka fought the urge to swallow hard, and simply raised one eyebrow. A large herd of moths had apparently taken up residence in the base of his stomach.

The firsties' heads swiveled back in his direction. 

"Fine," Hatake finally responded in a low, soft voice and lifted his book again. Iruka frowned slightly at the cover; he couldn't be sure from where he stood, but the book looked as if it was one of those trashy romance novels.

"Great," Iruka said. "See you all later at Sorting!"

The firsties broke out into delighted whispers. Hatake flipped a page; Iruka noticed that he wore black fingerless gloves, and his fingers seemed very long and pale.

Iruka let out a deep breath as soon as he stepped back out into the corridor. After the fluttering in the base of his stomach dissipated, he marched off in search of the other Gryffindors in his year.

Obito and Mizuki greeted him with raucous cries. Iruka quelled them with a frown, and managed to get a place between Kotetsu and Ayame, elbowing Izumo when he refused to budge over a bit.

"Oi, have you _seen_ the new bloke?" Mizuki asked, laughing in his nasal way. "He's an old man, isn't he?"

Ayame wrinkled her nose and said, "Not _that_ old," and Mizuki just laughed at her.

"A year older than us, maybe," Iruka said, giving Ayame an encouraging smile. Mizuki liked to tease her, and Iruka knew that Ayame didn't find it very amusing.

"I knew him from primary school," Obito offered, a rapid smile crossing his face. "They put him grades ahead of me and Rin, but he used to play with us."

"Oooooh, _Rin_. Hufflepuffs do it soft, yeah?" Mizuki waggled his eyebrows.

"Grow up," Iruka said flatly and Mizuki glowered at him. Obito's expression was fixed, almost rigid; to distract him from probably punching Mizuki, Iruka asked, "So you grew up with him?"

"Yeah, we're from the same town." Obito's expression softened. "He was really smart. Kind of sad when he left, just like that."

"Do you know why?" Iruka leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs.

Obito shrugged. 

"Who cares?" Mizuki burst out, obviously annoyed that all the attention wasn't focused on him. Iruka looked at him and thought, quite uncharitably, _that Hatake fellow rocks the white hair look better than you_. Mizuki narrowed his eyes at Iruka, obviously rattled by the nonplussed expression directed his way.

"Anyway, he's got those long arms, like an ape," Mizuki continued, cutting his gaze away from Iruka's. "If he's any use on a broom, he could be a Chaser. Merlin _knows_ we need _someone_ of use in the school."

"Luckily, Gryffindor already has a brilliant Seeker," Iruka said, and gave Ayame a very quick wink. Ayame rolled her eyes affectionately. 

"And the very best Keeper for _generations_ ," Obito added, putting a fist against his own chest with a smug grin.

"He hasn't even been Sorted yet," Izumo drawled, eyes closed as he sprawled next to Iruka. "The Hat might stick him in Ravenclaw, for all we know."

"Or Slytherin," Ayame pointed out. "The eyepatch makes him look mysterious."

Mizuki snorted. "Just because he's got that stupid thing over his eye, doesn't mean he's _mysterious_. Probably means he's as clumsy as fuck, more like."

"Language," Iruka warned and Mizuki pursed his lips.

"Whatever. Hey, you heard that big bloke in Hufflepuff changed his name? To _Killer Bee_ , of all things. Can you imagine?"

As Mizuki spread more gossip around as thickly as he could, Iruka settled back and thought that this year would probably be just like any other.

+

 **Sorting**  
 **  
**"Tanaka, Aisa!" Professor Kushina Uzumaki bellowed. All the older students, quite accustomed to the decibel level of the Potions' professor, didn't flinch. The poor firsties jumped in place. The girl from the train, the one with the unruly brown hair, slipped out of the crowd of first years and clambered up the few steps of the podium. Professor Uzumaki watched her approach with a wide smile. She murmured a few bracing words before plopping the worn Sorting Hat over Aisa's head.

"Ravenclaw!" the Hat yelled and that House exploded into applause. Iruka, seated between Asuma and Obito, clapped as well. Aisa caught his eye and gave him a little wave as she hopped over to her new House. Beside Iruka, Asuma pretended not to stare at Kurenai; the Sixth-year Ravenclaw, who Iruka contested every year for first place overall in their grades, rose to welcome Aisa to the table with a small but genuine smile. He knew that if he glanced to his other side, he'd see Obito throwing furtive glances at Rin over in Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff table started their own applause as another first year was sorted for them, and with students like Might Guy and Killer Bee, their cheering was mighty indeed.

Professor Uzumaki boomed out, "Uchiha, Itachi!"

A tiny boy with a very collected expression detached himself from the crowd and climbed the stool with more grace than most of the other students. 

" _Another_ one?" Across the table from Iruka, Shizune lifted her dark brows. "Every year, another Uchiha!"

"That is so true." Beside her, Yamato nodded in agreement, a half-smile flickering along his normally composed expression. "Uchiha are _everywhere_."

"What can I say," Obito said. He had one elbow on the table, one fist propped against his cheek, and he seemed half-asleep. "I have a _really_ big family."

"No, seriously." Shizune counted off her fingers, muttering under her breath. "...and there's you, Shisui in Slytherin and this new kid in Ravenclaw--"

"Itachi," Obito reminded her, and yawned a little. "Second cousin, I think? Shisui would know for sure. Itachi's a little shit, but he's really bright."

"--and Professor Uchiha," Shizune finished, referring to Izuna Uchiha: the Ravenclaw Head of House and the Transfigurations professor. "I know ten Uchiha, Obito. _Ten_."

"Big family," Obito repeated and then offered a bright grin. "You should see our reunions. Last year we rented a Quidditch pitch, it was ridiculous."

"Family is always ridiculous," Asuma rumbled and Iruka hid a smile. As a younger son of Headmaster Sarutobi, Asuma was constantly torn between proving himself as clever or as outstanding as his older siblings, and just not caring at all. If he only joined Iruka's study group, he'd probably get higher grades more consistently.

Professor Uzumaki rolled up the parchment with a flourish and then tucked it into one of her wide sleeves. She flicked a lock of her bright hair over her shoulder, and reached out to pick up the Hat from its perch on the stool.

"Professor Uzumaki," the Headmaster called out in his gravelly voice, and she hurried over to him. Headmaster Sarutobi rose and muttered, and Professor Uzumaki nodded, before returning to her place beside the Sorting Hat.

"Hatake, Kakashi," she called out and whispers broke out at all four House tables. Hizashi Hyūga, the Charms professor and the Head of Slytherin House, glared at his students and they quietened quickly. Those pale, featureless eyes were really effective, Iruka found; when they were turned on a student in class, or in the corridors, they were unsettling.

Iruka glanced up at the professors' table and found the blue gaze of his Head of House, Professor Namikaze, tracing a path along the Gryffindor table. 

"Quiet," Iruka murmured to his fellow sixth years and leaned forward to call down to the rest of the table. "Hey, shut it, you lot."

Professor Namikaze nodded in approval; his regard, already wicked-sharp, focused even more at Kakashi Hatake's laconic stroll between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Hatake slouched as if his life depended on it; his robes fluttered wide, revealing the grey v-neck jumper over the white, long-sleeved shirt. The ends of the shirt were untucked over his trousers, and both hands were shoved into the pockets.

Iruka exchanged a slightly mortified glance with Shizune. Yamato had gone up on one knee on the bench, the better to see. Hatake settled on the stool like one would at a pub, and leaned to one side so that Professor Uzumaki could put the Hat on the fall of silvery hair. She grinned, obviously amused by the fact that this was the first time a new student was taller than her.

The Hall was now so quiet that the Sorting Hat's soft, contemplative tone seemed to echo against the stone walls. "Hmm. _Interesting_." It muttered on for a few more moments, the words now incomprehensible. When the Hat had been placed on Iruka's head as a first year, it had burst out with, "Ha! A sharp mind, anyone can tell, but you've got a heart as loud as a bell. Nice and clear. You belong in Gryffindor, dear." This sorting had baffled his Ravenclaw parents.

Hatake stared at the floor, seeming far away. For a brief moment, he glanced up and the gaze from his uncovered eye met with Iruka's. Iruka blinked at the intensity of that stare, which lasted for a few beats, before Hatake looked away again.

"For a moment there, all a bit obscure," the Hat murmured. "Easy now to figure: he's for Gryffindor!"

The silence in the Hall took on a stunned character as Professor Uzumaki pulled off the Sorting Hat. Professor Namikaze started to clap and the Gryffindor table took on the applause, belated but increasing in enthusiasm. A flash of amused surprise broke through the bored cast of Hatake's face as he walked towards them. He made his way over to Yamato's side.

"Can I?" he said, jerking his chin at the space between Yamato and Shizune. They both shuffled over; Hatake swung one long leg over the bench and settled in. He nodded when Yamato asked him something in a low, excited manner, his lips twitching into a very slight smile.

"Hatake," Obito said and he looked up. "Nice to see you again."

"Is it?" Hatake answered and the nascent smile on his face twisted into something wry. "I suppose. And call me by my first name, will you? _Hatake_ sounds too much like the Head Auror."

"Welcome to Gryffindor," Iruka said to him, and Hatake managed to nod in Iruka's direction without looking him in the eye. "I hope you'll be a credit to your House."

"I hope not.’Being a credit' sounds well boring, doesn't it?" Hatake drawled and Iruka narrowed his eyes.

Asuma said, "Sometimes it is," in a very grumbling manner and coughed as Iruka elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, Kakashi," Mizuki called from a little further down the table. "You any good at Quidditch?"

Hatake appeared nonplussed. He opened his mouth to answer, but the Headmaster's voice broke through the conversation.

"Welcome," Headmaster Sarutobi intoned as he stood at the highly carved rostrum. "And welcome back." He stood there for a few beats, gazing from table to table. The Headmaster wasn't particularly tall; he seemed frail, shoulders hunched over as he gripped the sides of the rostrum. However, power flowed off him in palpable waves. Iruka had the idea that he curtailed this somehow, so as to not upset the more sensitive individuals in the room.

"This year may be one of change and personal growth for many of you. Take time to be yourselves." He nodded, a decisive movement. His eyes twinkled. "And take time to let others be themselves. And now, let us eat!"

As platters of steaming food materialized on the tables, Asuma said, "He gets weirder and weirder every year, honestly."

"Asuma!" Iruka said, serving a few heaping spoonfuls of vegetables into his plate. "A little more respect, maybe?"

Asuma's only response was a shrug as he shovelled food into his mouth.

"On to more important matters." Obito pointed his fork at Hatake. "Quidditch training, Kakashi. We need a new Chaser on the team, you should show up for try-outs."

"I'll think about it," Kakashi said, but Iruka thought he could hear a timbre of interest. He huffed; _Quidditch_. Good for a nice, light game, but he would never understand the obsession of fans. When the season for the professional league started roundabout the weeks for final exams, arguments broke out in the Common Room and Iruka's precious revision time was taken up with sending everyone to bed.

Iruka glanced at Kakashi now and again, but he seemed absorbed in conversation with Yamato and Ayame. Funny how the Hat had seemed to waffle there, a bit. Iruka shrugged, and started a conversation with Izumo about their plans for the study group this year.

+

**In The Headmaster's Office**

"Alright," Iruka said, giving one final stir to the potion set by Professor Uzumaki. "That should be it."

His partner for the class, Konan, stared at the bubbling liquid without comment. Iruka gave her a curious glance. She hardly spoke, but today she seemed even more quiet than usual. She was probably the most quiet Ravenclaw Iruka knew, and since they all seemed quiet, that was saying something.

"Everything all right there?" he asked, watching as she tidied their shared workspace with quick, jerky movements of her wand. She twitched her narrow shoulders and twitched her lips. Her labret piercing shifted as well, glinting in the light strewn from the lamps floating overhead.

"Not really," she admitted and a small smile flitted over her lips. "Boy troubles, I suppose."

"Ah." Iruka hoped he appeared wise as he nodded. As far as he knew, Konan didn't have a boyfriend, although she spent a lot of time around another Ravenclaw just as quiet as herself, named Nagato. Iruka looked over his shoulder: about four tables down, he could see Nagato bent over his own cauldron, that striking hair falling over his eyes. 

"Boy troubles are the worst," Iruka said as he turned back. Konan, who had been looking back as well, gave him a smile that was a fraction of an inch wider than the one before. "If you want to talk about it more--"

"I don't," she cut in, but at least her smile stayed on her face. "It's not that of a big deal. I'll get over it."

Iruka nodded and checked the flame under their cauldron. "Well, if you're sure," he said as he pointed his wand at the fire and reduced the heat as the instructions indicated. "I'm a good listener, though."

"I know you are." Konan tucked her hair behind her ear, fingers trailing over the paper flower she always wore. She made one every morning at breakfast, much to the delight of the younger Ravenclaws who gathered around her to watch. "I don't feel like talking about it now."

Ravenclaws, Iruka thought fondly. Always extremely direct, but rather transparent for all that. "Well, whenever you're ready," he told her. "You know where to find me."

Konan rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. She attended Iruka's study group quite regularly, of course she knew where to find him. Iruka heard the door to the Potions' lab creak open and Ibiki Morino, a prefect from Slytherin, walked up the central aisle which separated one side of the work-stations from the other. Professor Uzumaki got to her feet, her eyebrows slightly raised in curiosity. Morino stepped up to her podium and murmured to the Professor. She nodded and looked straight at Iruka.

"Umino, you're excused for the rest of the class. The Headmaster would like to see you."

"I'll finish up here," Konan said.

"Thanks," Iruka said as he packed his satchel and slung it over his shoulder, following Morino out of the classroom. "What's this about?" he asked as he walked down the corridor a few steps behind the Slytherin prefect.

"How should I know?" Ibiki answered, looking at Iruka out of the corner of his eye. "Just got told to fetch you, so I've fetched you." He turned a corner without warning and stalked off. Iruka shook his head.

"Thanks, I think," he called to Ibiki's rigid back, and made his way to the Headmaster's office. A massive statue of a bearded monkey stood just inside the arch, blocking the path to an ornate spiral staircase. The eyes of the statue shifted, looking at Iruka in solemn curiosity.

"Hello, Sir Enma," Iruka said."The Headmaster wants to see me?"

Sir Enma looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. He stepped to one side, the carved fur of his cloak so intricate that it seemed to flutter in an unseen wind. Iruka climbed up the staircase and knocked at the door.

The Headmaster's calm voice floated through the heavy wooden door. "Come in, Iruka."

Iruka turned the doorknob and walked in with a wide smile; he felt it widen even more when he noticed Professor Namikaze standing to one side of the Headmaster's massive desk. "Hello, Headmaster. Hello, Professor."

Headmaster Sarutobi nodded, a twinkle in his eye. Professor Namikaze seemed poised as usual, his bright gaze fixed on Iruka. He didn't smile, but his expression was very open. Iruka started when someone rose from one of the high-backed armchairs set in front of the Headmaster. Iruka blinked at the forbidding expression on Auror Hatake's face, the hard flash of his eyes.

"Iruka Umino," he said in knife-sharp tones, and Iruka struggled not to drop his gaze or appear guilty. "I know your parents."

"Yes, sir," Iruka answered, because what _else_ could he say? At Professor Namikaze's nod, Iruka sat in the other armchair, sinking in the soft cushions and setting his satchel on the floor. Auror Hatake took his seat again.

"Iruka," the Headmaster said in his gentle way, "Auror Hatake has asked for some special assistance for his son."

Iruka raised his eyebrows. From what he'd seen, that was probably necessary: Kakashi didn't seem particularly attentive in the many classes they shared. He had been placed in the same year as Iruka, and they shared a room in the dormitory with the other Sixth Year boys. Kakashi's bed was right across the walkway from Iruka's, beside Obito's. It was a regular occurrence for Kakashi and Obito to chat late into the night until Mizuki or Kotetsu yelled at them to shut up.

"My….son is very intelligent," Auror Hatake said and Iruka pondered at the odd little pause. He also wondered about the 'intelligent' part. "But he has never had a formal education. At least, not since he was six years old. I need to make sure that his education is as complete as possible."

Iruka nodded, but he still wasn't sure what that had to do with him.

"I've proposed that you tutor Kakashi," Professor Namikaze said, and Iruka blinked rapidly.

" _Me_ , sir?" Iruka gaped at his head of House. "Why me?"

Professor Namikaze grinned. Iruka had once had a massive crush on him, and a few years ago that smile would have sent Iruka into blushes and stammers. Right now, he simply grinned in return. It was hard not to do so, Professor Namikaze had a really great smile.

"The Seventh Years are all focused on their NEWTs," he explained. "And it would be difficult to get all the professors for one-on-one with Kakashi."

Headmaster Sarutobi nodded, and added: "You and Kurenai Yūhi are the next obvious choices, but your timetable is most similar to Kakashi's. Besides," and here, the Headmaster's cheeks crinkled as he smiled. "You are the cleverest Gryffindor I know." 

"Thank you, sir," Iruka said, preening internally. "I guess I could help? Should I coordinate things?"

"No, I'll tell Kakashi," Professor Namikaze said. "And I suppose you can use the small classroom near on the West corridor. Both your timetables have Thursdays free from three to five. Is that fine for you?"

"Yes, sir." Iruka nodded. The professors and the Head Auror simply looked at him for a long moment.

"You are dismissed, Iruka," Professor Namikaze finally said. Iruka struggled out of the very soft armchair and gripped the strap of his satchel, throwing it over his shoulder. He exited the office and went down the stairs, taking each step very slowly.

"Alright there, Sir Enma," he murmured when he arrived at the foot of the stair. Sir Enma stepped aside and gave him a look very much like the one from the professors. It was a very heavy look, and Iruka found that he didn't quite like it.

+

 **First Thursday Session**  
 **  
**Iruka glanced occasionally at Kakashi Hatake at breakfast the next Thursday, wondering if Professor Namikaze had already informed him of their special Thursday classes. Hatake simply gave off that nonchalant air which seemed to be such an intrinsic part of his nature. He continued to sport those fingerless gloves on his hands, an affectation if Iruka ever saw one; it wasn't even _that_ chilly right now. Or possibly, Hatake ran cold, because he also wore a Gryffindor scarf. Iruka noticed that he'd taken to wearing it wrapped up to over his nose. Nearly everyone thought it was stylish and mysterious. Iruka didn't find it particularly impressive.

A fluttering sound began overhead and Iruka looked up just in time to catch a small package delivered by his mother's owl, Endika. The owl, small and brown and haughty, landed on Iruka's shoulder and nibbled on a loose lock of his hair until Iruka offered up a bit of his breakfast sausage. Endika ate it with all the disdain he could manage, nipped at Iruka's ear and set off for home. He smiled at the spiky lettering on the attached note: _your dad baked these. don't eat too many at once!_

"Your father's cookies?" Yamato seemed to materialize at his elbow, eyeing the sturdy box revealed as Iruka pulled the brown paper. Iruka nodded and opened it, offering it to Yamato.

Yamato's smile brightened a little more as he carefully plucked one of the chocolate ones. In their lower years, he stayed at Hogwarts for every winter holiday, and even in the summer; when Iruka's parents had heard this, they took in Yamato for a few holidays, until the orphanage he'd been living in finally placed him with a supportive family.

"Take more," Iruka urged, and gave Yamato nearly half of the cookies. "See? My mum said you should."

He turned over the folded note and held it out so that Yamato could see what else his mother had written: _remember to give Yamato his share, he'll like the choccy ones, I wager_.

"Your mum's great," Yamato said, his eyes shining as he gazed down at the pile of cookies Iruka arranged on a breakfast plate. Iruka took out his wand and charmed the plate into a neat little box quite like his own. Yamato sampled another, and sighed. "Your da's fantastic too, really."

Iruka smiled at him, and Yamato turned to offer some to Ayame. Iruka glanced up and down the table, alert for any signs of trouble. The last of the post-owls flew in; one with dark-grey feathers and orange eyes landed near Hatake. In its claws, it clutched a small envelope made of weathered parchment. The grey owl thrust it into Hatake's hands without any greeting and flew off at a great speed.

Hatake stared at the envelope in his hands. An odd expression flittered over his face...at least, the little of it Iruka could see. 

One of the first year Gryffindors across from Hatake leaned over and said in a piping voice, "Is that from your parents?"

"It's nothing important," Hatake responded, straightening up from his slouch. "I'll just banish it… _without_ my wand."

"You can't!" the firstie gasped, actually raising up out of his place on the bench. "You're just a student, you can't do anything wandless as yet?" His year-mates around him murmured in agreement and Hatake twitched his eyebrows at them.

"No?" He held up the small envelope and twirled it in his hand in a complex, graceful movement. The envelope flickered and spun; one moment it danced in the spaces between his fingers and suddenly, it disappeared.

The firsties _shrieked_. The one which had challenged Hatake clapped a hand over his mouth, dark eyes wide. Iruka glanced up at the head table, but Professor Namikaze appeared more amused than concerned. Iruka looked back at Hatake, who seemed to be laughing as he stretched out his arms across the table, allowing the firsties to peel off his gloves and inspect his hands. It was simply Muggle sleight of hand, Iruka knew that, but Hatake had done it with an eerie kind of speed which had been magical to behold.

Iruka charmed his box of cookies into a size which could fit in his robe-pockets and got up from the table. He headed towards Hatake, who was putting on his gloves as Iruka addressed him.

"Hatake."

"Hmm?" Hatake looked up in a bland manner, a far cry from the teasing expression he'd bestowed on the firsties. He regarded Iruka for a few beats as he smoothed out his gloves and then his gaze slid away as if he'd weighed Iruka and found him lacking.

Bristling a little, Iruka tried to keep his tone calm and pleasant: "The professors told you that you'd be taking some extra lessons with me, right?"

"They told me," Hatake tugged at his scarf, plucking at the material. He sounded so bored.

Iruka took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, it's today, if you haven't remembered. Do you know where you should go?" Iruka rushed on without waiting for a response. "It's the small room on the West corridor, to the--"

"I know where it is," Hatake cut in and while he still seemed mostly disinterested, there was now a cool sharpness to his voice.

"Fine," Iruka snapped, inexplicably cut by Hatake's tone. "I'll see you later, then."

He stalked off, expecting to be followed by some response from Hatake, but he heard nothing.

As annoyed as Iruka felt, he actually looked forward to the extra lessons. He liked teaching other students, which was why he had formed that study group with Kurenai. He arrived early to the assigned room, and set out parchment, quills and selected texts for the subject of focus today: Charms. He'd watched Hatake in Professor Hyūga's classes, and Hatake's every attempt had been dismal. Certainly, Professor Hyūga had been deeply unimpressed.

Satisfied at the arrangement of the room, Iruka sat at the single desk and waited.

At ten minutes past the appointed hour, he remained patient; Hatake didn't seem to be the kind of person who thought highly of punctuality. For every class they shared, Hatake had a tendency to enter the classroom a few breaths before the professor.

After an hour of waiting, Iruka's temper bubbled under his skin. He stood up from his seat and packed all of the supplies back into his satchel with quick, jerky movements. He slammed his way out of the room, and stood for a moment in the corridor, lips pressed tightly together as he thought. After some furious consideration, he stalked off towards the Quidditch pitch.

His instincts had been correct (well, mostly. He'd headed for the more hidden training pitch first, and found it occupied by the Ravenclaw team doing drills). Right in front of the stands of the main fields, Hatake sat on the mown grass with most of the Gryffindor team, still wearing flying-gear. Guy and Bee from Hufflepuff sat with them as well, and Iruka heard friendly teasing as he stormed in that direction.

"Uh-oh," Obito said as Iruka loomed over them.

"Hatake," Iruka gritted out. " _Where have you been?_ "

"You're in trouble, Kakashi," Mizuki said in a stage-whisper. He, Obito and Kotetsu descended into giggles. 

"All of you, just be quiet. Especially you, Mizuki, I'm not in the mood for your foolishness right now." Iruka glared at the lot of them and Mizuki glowered back at him. Bee and Guy had expressions of bemusement on their faces.

"He's been right here all along, training," Bee offered with that wide, friendly smile he was known for.

"Yes, TRAINING!" Guy put in. His eyes sparkled. "He's AN EXCELLENT CHASER and I can't wait for Hufflepuff to go up against them! See what he's _really_ got!"

Hatake, who sat with his back against the solid wooden panel of the stands, gave Guy a withering look. "Training," he confirmed, not looking up at Iruka. "Just as they said."

"Oh, were you?" Iruka folded his arms across his chest. "So I suppose that you simply forgot you had extra lessons with me, did you?"

Mizuki sniggered. "Extra lessons! Oh _Merlin_."

"Why would he even _need_ extra lessons?" Obito wondered out loud, his dark eyebrows conferring together in confusion. "Kakashi is smarter than--"

"I didn't forget," Hatake interjected smoothly, leaving Obito to mutter to himself. "I just didn't feel like going."

Iruka had never felt this staggered in his entire young life. He felt his face gape at Hatake, who sat there looking up at him with that flat expression.

"You...didn't _feel_ \--" Iruka took a deep breath and tried a different tack. "How would you feel if your father knew heard about this, then?"

A harsh light flared in the depths of Hatake's eye, but when he spoke, it was in that same dispassionate tone. "I really wouldn't care."

"Then perhaps you'd care to have detention with Professor Namikaze for the rest of the term." Iruka felt ruthless, and it probably showed in his eyes from the way Bee and Guy drew back. "A session every time you had Quidditch practice, how does _that_ sound?"

"Iruka." Kotetsu sounded unusually subdued. "That's not funny, mate. We need him, we might have a chance at the Cup this year with him on the team."

Iruka bent a little, so as to point in Hatake's face. "I'm not joking," he said, answering Kotetsu and addressing Hatake at the same time. "Do not test me on this."

Hatake moved and it was with that same unsettling speed he displayed with the envelope at breakfast. He grabbed Iruka's wrist and pulled. Iruka stumbled forward, stepping on someone's foot before he landed heavily on his knees between Hatake's thighs. Iruka twisted his hand away and made a fist without even thinking. He just barely managed to stop himself from drawing back and then punching Hatake, right in the middle of his stupid face.

With as much dignity as he could muster, he got to his feet and simply walked away. He heard murmuring behind him and then Obito called out, "He'll be there for the next one, Iruka. Just don't make him get any detention!"

Iruka continued without looking back. When he got to the brick-paved path which wound past a few cosy structures used by the groundskeepers and a few of the professors, he found himself rubbing the wrist which Hatake had grabbed; it seemed he could still feel the rough material of the glove against his skin, a sensation even more tangible than his aching knees.

"Iruka!" a small voice bellowed and Iruka turned. A tiny boy, chubby and fair-haired, barrelled into him and then tried to climb him like a tree. "Iruka! Iruka!"

"Hey!" Iruka reached down and lifted the toddler into the crook of his arm. "Hey, Naruto."

Naruto beamed at him and Iruka felt his disastrous mood melt away, for Naruto was that adorable. He bounced Naruto in his arms, and the little boy giggled.

"All right there, Iruka?" Professor Uzumaki said from behind him. Iruka turned; she walked up the path arm in arm with Professor Namikaze. They were obviously on their daily stroll with their son before one or the other of them had to be at dinner at the Great Hall. Because of Naruto, there were a few nights that they took to have dinner as a family in their sweet little cottage. Occasionally, they brought Naruto with them to the Hall for a meal and Naruto would invariably cause some kind of uproar. Once, in a fit of pure excitement, Naruto had managed to overturn the Head Table with his wild baby-magic.

"I'm fine, Professor," Iruka said now, trying to gently pull Naruto's fingers from where they gripped a hank of his hair, as usual. This rambunctious little person was the reason Iruka kept the long, dark strands in a plait at the nape of his neck. Naruto considered it his duty to pull at Iruka's hair at every available occasion.

"You seemed a little upset just now." Professor Namikaze considered him closely. "How was Kakashi's first session?"'

 _He's an utter prick_ , Iruka wanted to say, but instead he peppered Naruto's cheek with kisses and set him on his own feet, to give himself time to think.

"I hope the next one will go better," he answered, quite truthfully. Both professors looked at him for a few long beats, and then Namikaze nodded.

"Very well," he said, reaching out to grasp Professor Uzumaki's hand. "Let's be off, Naruto."

"No!" Naruto yelled, hanging onto Iruka's leg like a very large, blond leech. "I go Iruka!"

"There's noodles for dinner, dear," Professor Uzumaki said in coaxing tones. Naruto released Iruka immediately and hurried towards his parents, throwing Iruka an apologetic look over his shoulder.

"S'Alright, mate!" Iruka called after him, grinning outright. "Can't get between a bloke and his noodles!"

+

 **Gryffindor vs Slytherin**  
 **  
**Iruka didn't speak much with Hatake in the week after that first failed extra lesson. They shared a lot of classes, but Iruka hardly glanced his way. He had decided that if Hatake didn't attend their next lesson, he'd definitely go to Professor Namikaze. In the meantime, he endured the heightened excitement in the dorms as the first 'friendly' Quidditch match was scheduled for Wednesday, between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Every morning, he'd be awakened by Obito, Kotetsu, Mizuki and Hatake going out for early practice, making no effort to be quiet.

Hatake's bed stood directly across the small aisle from Iruka's, and Iruka couldn't be blamed if, from between his slitted eyelids, he sometimes watched Hatake pulling off his nightshirt and dressing in his Quidditch gear. Hatake was a prat, in Iruka's humble opinion, but he was tall and wiry. Apparently, Iruka had a type; physically-speaking in any case.

At breakfast on the day of the match, Hatake received another of those small envelopes delivered by the taciturn grey owl. A swarm of firsties descended on him, actually shoving Obito to one side and ignoring his surprised yell as he nearly slid off the bench.

"Do the thing again," one of them demanded as he settled right against Hatake's side. Iruka recognized him as the firstie who had told Hatake that he couldn't use wandless magic. 

Hatake arched his exposed eyebrow at the horde of mini-wizards surrounding his place on the bench. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the one right beside him. "What thing is that, Haro?"

Iruka felt a bit startled that Hatake knew a firstie's name. Iruka knew most of them, as a matter of course, but most Sixth years didn't really care.

"The _thing_." Haro stared at Hatake as if he could force the trick with just the power of his mind. "Banish it without your wand."

"But I can't do wandless magic," Hatake replied in a lazy drawl, one hand propped up under his chin as he blinked very slowly at Haro. "You told me so yourself, last week."

"Well, maybe I was wrong!" Haro exclaimed and folded his arms across his chest, pouting, "Just do the thing again, please?"

"Oh, I think I've lost the ability for that one." Hatake set the envelope to cavorting among his fingers, just like the last time. Iruka had to admit, it was fascinating to watch him do that; for a person who had never seen a Muggle magician, it would have seemed _impossible_ without a wand. "I may need extra lessons to remind me."

Iruka scowled in his direction but Hatake blithely twirled the envelope. It was almost hypnotic.

"That is so bloody neat," Ayame said from where she sat beside Iruka. "How does he _do_ that?"

Iruka shrugged, just as Hatake appeared to throw the envelope into the tall goblet of pumpkin juice at his elbow. The firsties cried out in displeasure.

"What did you do that for? Now it's all wet!" Haro stood up to peer into the goblet and an expression of shock bloomed over his face. "... where is it?"

Hatake laughed. It was a low, rusty sound, but it made Iruka's mouth feel dry for some reason.

"Where is what?" Hatake asked, the very picture of innocence. Haro looked murderous. Iruka could relate.

"The letter you got!" he cried. "You put it in the cup, I swear you did. Didn't he?" He turned to look at his friends, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Ohhh." Hatake stroked the air as if playing an invisible harp, fingers curling one after the other, and the envelope materialized between his first and second fingers. "You mean _this_ letter? Or...this one?" Another balletic movement and a second envelope emerged, gripped between his second and third fingers. Haro's eyelids fluttered rapidly. "Or this one?"

A third small envelope appeared, fanned out with the others like cards. Hatake waved them under Haro's nose, laughing again. Haro tried to take them, moving as if he was in a dream, but Hatake held them out of his reach.

"Now, now, these are _my_ letters," he said and pulled the ends of his ever-present scarf to one side so he could tuck the envelopes into his robes. "Don't you have classes now?"

Haro stood up in a daze and staggered off in the wrong direction; his friends grabbed him and dragged him the right way.

"Hope you're just as slick in the match later," Obito commented as he and Hatake got to their feet. 

"I'll do my best, captain," Hatake said, very drily and they fell into very serious discussions about strategies as they headed for the tall, double doors of the Hall.

"You'll come to watch, won't you?" Ayame asked as she finished her tea and got to her feet, slinging the strap of her satchel over one shoulder.

Iruka wrinkled his nose. "Not sure. Big study group tonight, you know?"

Ayame nodded. "Yes, well, it'd be nice to see you there!" She squeezed his shoulder affectionately and bustled off.

The excitement over the match ramped up even more during the day. Not that big a Quidditch fan, Iruka felt irked at the constant chatter in the halls. As he made his way to the library, he had to dodge a massive banner of a snake as it was carried to the pitch by chanting Slytherins.

"For crying out loud," Iruka complained as he settled into his regular seat with the other members of his study group. The library was empty with the exception of the librarian. "Everyone's gone Quidditch-crazy."

"Everyone has _always_ been Quidditch-crazy," Ebisu said with a sniff, sitting rigidly in his chair beside Konan's. "We're just too smart to get caught up in it."

"I actually like Quidditch," Rin commented with a small smile as she searched for a quill in her bag. "My dad played for the Galloping Gallumphs when he was younger. Gave me a broom before I could walk."

"Really?" Iruka smiled at her, amused at this new tidbit. He'd known Rin for _years_ , and he was just now hearing about this.

"Quidditch has a very strategic aspect," Kurenai put in. She wrote quickly in her notebook, not looking up. "Considering the varying factors, all those moving parts, it takes a lot of brainwork."

"And everyone looks fantastic all kitted out," Konan said very seriously, but her eyes twinkled. "The form-fitting clothing. The gloves. Those gauntlets."

"Konan!" Rin exclaimed with a laugh, her cheeks flushed. 

Iruka glanced down at his own book, already filled with the day's notes. "Maybe we can go to the match, then? Just for a few minutes."

Rin brightened. "Really? That'd be great, I haven't seen a match in ages!"

"I'll stay here and hold the fort," Ebisu said in a sour way. "Kurenai, how about you?"

Kurenai's answer was the quick packing of her books, quill and ink. "I'll have a look."

Bemused, Iruka left the familiar safety of the library and trekked down to the main Quidditch pitch. Even though Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff gathered in their respective groups in the stands, Kurenai, Konan and Rin sat with Iruka at one of the higher levels in the Gryffindor section. Iruka saw Naruto sitting in Professor Namikaze's lap, waving a red and orange pennant with enthusiastic flaps of his little arm. 

Iruka glanced up at the players zooming overhead. The Beaters, Kotetsu and Mizuki, battered at the Bludgers with strong, wide swings. Iruka tensed as one of the Bludgers focused on Hatake; before it struck him, Hatake spun head over heels on his broom. The Bludger missed by a few inches.

Guy's enhanced voice boomed above the yells of the crowd as he commentated: "Hatake catches the Quaffle, and sends it over to Hijiri but INTERCEPTED by a well-placed Bludger from Mitarashi! Fine move, such glorious accuracy! Quaffle is in free-fall and is caught by Kyuuga!" The Gryffindors screamed foul, but Professor Jiraiya shook his head with a lazy grin. He seemed almost half-asleep as he hovered on his broom on the middle of the fast-paced match, arms folded across his chest. Iruka felt sure that the Flying instructor paid close attention to the match, though; he'd been pretty sharp when Iruka had taken his classes in first year.

"Slytherin pulls their world-famous Silver Bullet move, they're heading for the goal," Guy informed the spectators. "Uchiha better watch out but OH YES ANOTHER INTERCEPTION! GRYFFINDOR HAS THE QUAFFLE AGAIN!"

Excited yells raised from the stands (with boos from the Slytherin quarter) as Shimon Hijiri flew with the Quaffle under his arm. He threw it to Hatake, who caught it with enviable ease and lobbed it over to the third Chaser, Yamato, and all three headed towards the goal. The Slytherin goalkeeper darted towards Yamato as he raised his arm, but Yamato flung it to Hatake.

Hatake tossed it right through the leftmost ring, and the Gryffindors exploded into happy cries.

"Gryffindor advances ten more points and the game is all tied up! AND THE SEEKERS HAVE FINALLY SPOTTED THE SNITCH! THE RACE IS ON!"

Ayame zoomed overhead, hotly pursuing the Slytherin Seeker, but Iruka gazed on Hatake; his pale hair fluttered from his brow as he twisted and turned, tracing a dizzying pattern. The patch over his eye didn't seem to deter him from quickly dodging the Bludgers or snatching the Quaffles. His legs seemed extra long in the trousers he wore. Iruka swallowed, hard.

"YES!" Guy screeched and Iruka jumped, startled. He'd been so focused on Hatake. "The Gryffindor Seeker has snatched the victory!"

Ayame, one fist balled victoriously, did a lap around the field to the combined sounds of ecstatic shrieking and disappointed groans. 

"That was fantastic!" Rin hollered as she clapped beside Iruka. Konan put two fingers in her mouth and produced an ear-splitting whistle. Iruka dropped his chin in a slow nod, gaze fixed on Hatake landed beside Ayame and flung his arms around her. They both jumped around in delight, and the rest of team stormed towards them, nearly tumbling them over. 

"I enjoyed that!" Kurenai exclaimed and Iruka turned to gaze at her in wonder; he had never heard Kurenai so animated. "We should do this more often!"

"Right," Iruka heard himself say. "Sure, we can."

"Are you okay?" Konan looked at him closely and then grinned. "It's the gauntlets, right?"

Iruka rolled his eyes. He allowed her to hook her arm through his elbow and haul him up. He took Rin's hand and they wormed their way out of the celebratory bouncing of the crowd, back up to the castle and to the library.

"The Gryffs won!" Konan told Ebisu when they got back to their table. Ebisu managed to appear unimpressed and disappointed at the same time.

"Good for them," he answered, and frowned a little. "Great, now I'll have to deal with a houseful of Slytherins moping over a lost match."

The study session didn't last for much longer, although Kurenai got them through all the topics they'd assigned. They packed up their books and exited: Ebisu headed for the dungeons; Rin for the cosy Hufflepuff basement; Iruka, Kurenai and Konan for their respective Towers. The entry to the Gryffindor Common room was guarded by a portrait of a massive toad sitting in the middle of a forest. The toad was so huge that it dwarfed the trees, and it watched Iruka's approach with half-slitted eyes.

"G'night, Sir Gamabunta," Iruka greeted the toad, and received a brief nod in reply.

"Password," Sir Gamabunta croaked in his low voice. He had a tobacco pipe tucked into one corner of his mouth and a small spire of smoke rose from the end of the pipe.

" _Panthera_ ," Iruka answered and Sir Gamabunta nodded again, accepting the password. The portrait swung open and Iruka stepped into the brightly lit Common Room. Loud conversation washed over him: every armchair and sofa was packed with students, the rest sprawled out on the rugs, all laughing at Obito and Mizuki's reenactment of the match. Even Professor Namikaze was in here, tucked into an armchair in a corner as he divided his attention between Naruto playing with a cuddly toy at his feet, and the excited babbling of the students.

Not wanting to be seen, Iruka edged around the crowd. Still, Professor Namikaze spotted him and nodded, an indication that he'd take care of sending everyone to bed at the right time. Iruka smiled in gratitude and headed for up to the Sixth year boys' dorms. He opened the door with a tired sigh and froze at the sight of Hatake, already snuggled in bed.

"Oh," Iruka managed to say, stepping in and closing the door behind himself. "Thought you were downstairs with everyone else."

Hatake looked at him. He lay against his pile of pillows, a book in hand. He shrugged and returned his attention to the book. Inexplicably, Iruka felt his cheeks warm and he headed for his own bed, setting down his satchel on the floor and fetching his paraphernalia for the bathroom. He took a quick shower, and when he got back to the dorm, the hangings around Hatake's bed were drawn, blocking most of Iruka's view. However, a sliver of light emanated from between the heavy swaths of two curtains.

Iruka setted into bed, and snuggled under his own covers. He smoothed a hand over the thick blanket his father had bought for him.

He cleared his throat and called out, "Good night, Hatake."

"Good night," Hatake answered after a brief pause.

"Great game," Iruka added. He waited for a few long beats, and then closed his eyes determinedly, as if trying to push back the odd sensation of disappointment. 

His eyelids snapped open in surprise when Hatake said, very quietly: "Thanks."

+

 **Second Thursday Session**  
 **  
**Iruka raised his eyebrows as Hatake entered the small room off the West corridor at precisely three p.m.

"You're actually on time?" Iruka canceled the glowing _tempus_ which had been hovering near his elbow. "I didn't know that was actually possible."

"Am I?" Hatake sat in the chair directly opposite to Iruka, and immediately slid down into a slouch. "I thought we started at one."

Iruka took two deep breaths and then said, "Okay. I've been watching you in classes--"

"Watching me, _Professor_?" Hatake twitched his dark eyebrows. "What will people _think_?"

"-- _and_ I think Charms is your weakest subject," Iruka finished and glared at him. Hatake's expression was very composed, although he seemed to have a very mocking air. "So, I think we'll start with that."

"Whatever," Hatake said and Iruka gritted his teeth. He decided to start with the more practical aspects of Charms, the actual spell-casting, because he thought that Hatake might learn better that way. However, every one of Hatake's attempts was half-hearted and haphazard. He held his wand too loosely, and his swishes, twirls and flicks were far too languid for Iruka's tastes. Iruka wanted to grab his hand and press his fingers into proper placement, but the thought of touching Hatake made him feel weird.

After about forty-five minutes of what Iruka considered to be sheer torture, he put his wand down and covered his face with his hands.

"You're _awful_ ," he despaired, voice muffled behind his palms. "It's either that, or I'm a rubbish teacher. But how can you be so bad at all this, when you're brilliant with the card tricks?"

A heavy silence reigned and then Hatake said, in a very stiff tone, "What's the next charm on your list?"

Iruka peeked down at his parchment from between his fingers. " _Geminus_ ," he read and scrubbed at his face before removing his hands.

" _Geminus_ ," Hatake echoed in a low, questioning murmur.

"Yeah, it's a charm to double something...to make a clone of it," Iruka explained. "But if you can't even do a simple Cushioning charm, how can--" 

He broke off as Hatake raised his wand and traced out a tight curve in the air with his wand; his movements were crisp and clean. " _Adaugeo, unum_ ," Hatake intoned and then tapped himself on the forehead. Iruka sighed as nothing happened. 

"Right, I don't even know what that _was_."

"It was to make a copy of himself," someone murmured directly in his right ear. Iruka bellowed in surprise and lurched to the left, the chair toppling over with him. The someone seized his arm and hauled him upright again. Iruka sat there with his heart pounding in his chest; his jaw unhinged as another Hatake walked from behind him and stood beside the original. They both had identical smiles of smug satisfaction plastered on their lips. The replication was _perfect_.

"I don't know much about _Geminus_ ," Hatake drawled. His copy stuck hands in pockets and adopted that now-familiar sagging stance. "But I'm handy with _Adaugeo_. Can _Geminus_ determine the number of copies?"

"No," Iruka answered, breathlessly. Hatake wrinkled his nose.

" _Adaugeo, tris_ ," he said, executing that impeccable movement with his wand and turning slightly to tap his copy on the elbow. Three more copies puffed into existence, without the whispering snap which usually accompanied the _Geminus_ charm. They all stood there in varying poses of nonchalance, before Hatake slashed his wand-arm through the air and said, " _Finite Incantatem_."

The clones all dematerialized as silently as they'd appeared. Iruka gazed at Hatake's now impassive face for a long time; he didn't even know what to think at this moment. Admiration, annoyance, envy and anger flowed through him in seemingly equal measure. Then, his temper took up the anger and annoyance, and ran with them.

"Well, then, if you're so damned clever, why don't you do better in classes?" he burst out. "Why make the professors and your father think that you need these lessons? And… and why didn't you come to the first session? We could have sorted this out ages ago!"

"I didn't show up last week because I don't like being spied on," Hatake said, apparently choosing to ignore the rest of Iruka's questions. He looked at Iruka as if he had discovered something distasteful on the bottom of his shoe.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Iruka shouted, getting up out of his chair and slamming his fists against the hard wooden surface of the desk. Hatake got up too, leaning forward with his own knuckles pressed against the top of the desk.

"You can't be stupid enough to think the professors and the Head Auror don't know what I'm capable of," he spat, and for the first time his narrow face contorted with emotion. "They _know_. And they set _you_ to watch me, to make sure I don't go back to whatever it is they think I used to do."

"Whatever it is you used to do, you probably deserve to be watched," Iruka spat. "But they didn't set me to watch you, you berk!"

"Oh?" Hatake stood up straight and folded his arms across his chest. "They probably figured, 'ohhh, let's set a student on him, one we can trust to report back if he does anything bad. A goody-goody. Right, Umino will do _just fine_.'"

Iruka opened his mouth to negate that line of thinking, but Hatake barrelled on like the Hogwarts Express, still mimicking the air and tone of a professor. Iruka had to admit, it was a very good mimicry.

"'And you know what? If he does something to Umino, say, an _Imperius_ , we'll know!'" He glowered at Iruka. "You understand now, don't you? If I influenced you in any way, magically or not, you'd start acting differently. They know you that well, and they wouldn't need to know _me_. It'd be obvious anyway, because you're so bloody transparent. You'd be telling them everything they needed," he said with a nasty curl of his lips, "and you wouldn't even know it."

Breathing hard as if he'd been flying a marathon, Iruka snapped, "That's the most convoluted shit I've ever heard. You're acting as if everyone's out to get you. No wonder your father wanted to keep an eye on you, you're _mad_."

"You don't know me," Hatake told him in a very threatening manner. "Don't you dare act like you know _anything_ about my father and me."

"And you don't know me!" Iruka's voice went up again into a shout. "You're going around, calling me transparent--"

"Because it's the truth!" Hatake snatched some of Iruka's books off the desk and dashed them onto the ground in a sudden, violent display. "You're transparent, and you're so fucking _simple._ You think school is important?" He thrust a finger right in Iruka's face. "NOTHING HERE IS IMPORTANT. It's safe and quiet and _stupid_ , and the real world is out there waiting to tear you into pieces!"

"It's not my fault you can't adjust to regular people, Hatake!" Iruka yelled. Hatake actually whirled and _kicked_ Iruka's precious books, sending quite a few of them flying towards a wall.

"Stop calling me Hatake!" he howled in rage, and clutched handfuls of his own hair. " _My name is Kakashi_!"

Iruka walked out of the room before he even registered what his feet were doing. He thought he heard Hatake calling after him, but he wasn't sure. He operated on auto-pilot, and found himself standing in front of Sir Enma.

"I'd like to speak with the Headmaster, please," he said and felt taken-aback to hear his voice waver. Sir Enma nodded and stepped out of the way. Iruka trudged up the spiral staircase as if the whole world rested on his shoulders. He knocked at the door and it swung open without any pause. The Headmaster sat behind his desk, hands clasped atop the empty surface. He seemed unsurprised to see Iruka, who sat in one of the armchairs in the manner of one who had been walking for _days_.

"Iruka?" Professor Sarutobi's voice felt so very gentle against Iruka's ears after Hatake's caustic words. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Hatake-- _Kakashi's_ angry voice splintered through Iruka's mind: _You'd be telling them everything they needed_.

"Sir, it's just that…" Iruka sighed. "I don't think I'm the best person to help tutor Kakashi Hatake."

"Oh?" The Headmaster tilted his head. "And how have you come to that conclusion?"

"I don't think he even needs to be here, sir," Iruka admitted. "So...I suppose the lessons are a waste of time."

Professor Sarutobi raised one hand and stroked his cheek contemplatively. His gaze grew distant.

"Okay," Iruka nodded. That was that, then. "I'll just--"

"I must say that I disagree, Iruka," the Headmaster said and his regard sharpened once more. "I feel that you have quite a lot to teach Kakashi. He has not had a normal upbringing, you see."

"I figured as much," Iruka muttered and the Professor chuckled.

"Continue the extra lessons, Iruka," he said and Iruka gave serious thought to throwing a tantrum about the whole situation, just as Naruto did when he wanted sweets from the Headmaster and didn't get them as quickly as he thought he should. "I must insist."

His tone brooked no argument and Iruka nodded, listlessly.

+

 **Third Thursday Session**  
 **  
**The days after Iruka's argument with Kakashi passed painfully, since Iruka saw him nearly every hour of every weekday. At least, Kakashi's spellwork seemed to improve exponentially. Iruka had no idea why he'd be putting in any effort _now_ , but the student in him approved.

"Had a fight with your boyfriend?" Mizuki mocked when Iruka and Kakashi crossed paths in the Common Room with nary a word of acknowledgement. Iruka felt heat rise from his neck all the way to the roots of his hair.

"He's not my boyfriend," Iruka said and tried to ignore the way his stomach clenched at those words. Mizuki hooted.

"Hey, Kakashi!" he yelled. "You _do_ know Iruka here flies for both teams, right?"

Kakashi didn't pause on the way to the exit. He pushed his way out of the Common Room without a response.

"Rude!" Mizuki shook his head and then frowned at Iruka's disgusted glare. "What? What is _wrong_ with all of you? Even Obito's been all shirty, too."

It was true, Iruka realised, and he began to pay closer attention. Where Kakashi and Obito used to sit together at meals, now Kakashi mostly sat with the first years and Yamato, amusing them with his card tricks. Obito now spent a lot of time with Asuma and Mizuki, and Iruka noted that whenever he glanced over at Kakashi, his gaze seemed troubled. Thank goodness everyone else seemed mostly normal: Kotetsu and Izumo still drove each other up the wall with comforting regularity.

On the third Thursday at three in the afternoon, Iruka reluctantly entered the small room off the West corridor and found Kakashi lying across the desk, one arm flung over his eyes. A smoky haze hung in the air and Iruka coughed a little.

"Have you been _smoking_?" 

"Who will you tell if I have?" Kakashi said. With his arm over his eyes and his mouth covered by the scarf, Iruka couldn't read his face. Still, his tone had seemed very defensive. "No, Professor Umino, I haven't been smoking."

"Come off that," Iruka told him and pulled away one of the chairs so he could take a seat. "I want to say something."

Kakashi sighed. "So say it."

"I'm sorry." Iruka smiled a little when Kakashi pulled away his arm and went up on his elbows, his eyebrow raised high. "Yeah...for starting that fight with you last week." Iruka let out a heavy sigh. "It wasn't well done of me, let's leave it at that."

Kakashi blinked at him for a few beats, but didn't say anything.

"It's just that, I _like_ school," Iruka continued, feeling the need to fill the silence with words. "I'm good at it, I like being here, I think it's grand. So, when you said that school wasn't important, I...guess I took that to heart."

"I wasn't saying that _you_ weren't important," Kakashi said, and Iruka felt his heart leap. He ducked his head, as Kakashi sat up on the desk. "I said a lot of shitty things to you, didn't I? I didn't mean half of them."

Iruka wasn't quite sure whether to laugh or get offended all over again, and he glanced up at Kakashi's face. Kakashi, now seated crosslegged, had his own face averted as he traced patterns in the surface of the desk; his scarf fell in loose loops about his neck. Iruka let out a weak chuckle, and the austere line of Kakashi's shoulders relaxed, just a bit.

"I wasn't smoking," Kakashi repeated after a very long silence. "I was burning letters."

Iruka pursed his lips in thought. "The ones you get from that grey owl?"

"Yes." Kakashi inhaled and exhaled deeply. "They're from my mother. Kikyo."

"Oh." Iruka nodded, not really understanding. "Where is she?"

Kakashi gave him a very hard, challenging look. "She's in Azkaban. My father put her there."

"...well," Iruka managed in a strained voice. "Um--"

"You ever heard of the Shadowbloom Gang?" Kakashi asked, very casually. "Con artists? Master thieves?"

" _Everyone's_ heard of Shadowbloom!" Iruka said, leaning forward. "You can't be telling me that your mum was in that gang?"

Kakashi leaned forward as well. "My mother is the _entire gang_ ," he whispered and sat back. He laughed at Iruka's expression of shock, but it wasn't a very nice laugh. It sounded bitter and cold. "We lived with my father for awhile. Like a normal family, and then one day, she took me and just ran. He thought she'd changed, but he didn't know my mother. You know?"

Iruka _didn't_ know. "Uh--"

"We went all over the place. She taught me all the spells she knew, so if you need to break into a structure with a five-layer high security warding system, you can call on me."

"Not sure if I'll ever have the need," Iruka muttered and Kakashi laughed again. It didn't sound as acidic as the last one, but there was a thread of loss to it.

He wrapped his arms around himself, as if for warmth and continued in a low tone: "She's so good at just...reading people up, and then taking everything from them. I just wanted her to stop. We had enough for a nice little house and I could...I don't know, be normal, have some _friends_ \--"

"You have some now," Iruka said, reaching out to rest his hand on Kakashi's nearest ankle. Kakashi looked down at his hand with not a little surprise; Iruka gave his foot a gentle pat before pulling away. 

"Once, she got ambushed by Aurors. Well, _we_ got ambushed. I got in the way and then…" Kakashi pointed at his eyepatch and goosebumps raced over Iruka's skin. "It hurt. A lot."

"Oh, Kakashi," Iruka breathed and received another quick glance of surprise. "That must have sucked."

"Yeah, well." Kakashi hunched his shoulders and then let them relax. "Kikyo took me to a safe place and she charmed the Eye of Heaven for me."

The Eye of Heaven. Iruka had read that, _somewhere_ and he bent his head, rifling through his mental catalogue of information. He actually jumped a little when he found it.

"That's the Uchiha bloodspell," he whispered. "Only Uchiha can perform it! Was your mother Uchiha?"

Kakashi shook his head, a mirthless smile on his face. "No. She stole some of their blood some time before I lost my eye, and transfused it into her own veins so she could activate the charm for herself. She's really the best thief in our world."

"I'll say!" Iruka burst out and then sat back in his seat, head reeling. "Wow." He thought a little bit more and then ventured: "Oh. You told Obito, didn't you?" He bit his bottom lip as Kakashi nodded slowly.

"He didn't take it too well."

They both remained quiet for a very long time.

"That's why you have to keep your eye covered," Iruka murmured. "You're not Uchiha, so even if you know the spell to turn it off and on, you don't have the blood that it's linked to."

"Ten points to Professor Umino," Kakashi said with a wry smile and Iruka laughed. "It's just that...Obito's reaction reminded me of what it felt like, to not belong anywhere."

Iruka's breath caught in his throat, at the wistful note in Kakashi's voice and the way that phrase seemed to resonate with his own experience.

"I can relate." He nodded soberly, even though Kakashi seemed skeptical. "You've seen my parents, right?"

"Sure," Kakashi said, dragging out the word very slowly. "You have those photos on your chest-of-drawers."

Iruka nodded again. "Well… my mum's black. And she's a pureblood. My father's white, and he's Muggleborn."

Kakashi wrinkled his nose, as if to say _so_?

Iruka explained: "In the Muggle world, some folks don't like that. That they're different races and they're married, that is."

"Why is that important?" Kakashi wondered out loud. Iruka shrugged.

"I dunno. But I do know that some of my dad's family didn't like my mother. And I got called names at my Muggle schools."

"What sort of names?" Kakashi wanted to know, and Iruka thought he heard an odd note in his voice.

"Doesn't matter now. But it's kind of the same thing in _our_ world, isn't it?" Iruka folded his arms on top of the desk. "My mum's father _still_ won't talk directly to my father, it's ridiculous."

"Well, yeah," Kakashi admitted. "That's just how it is, though."

Iruka shook his head. "It doesn't have to be. But, you know, like I said: I can relate. For a long time, I didn't feel I really belonged. I was just half-in, anywhere I went. And then I came to Hogwarts and it was just as good as going home."

Kakashi's eye was dark as it focused on Iruka. "And that's why it's important to you." 

"Well, yeah," Iruka said, laughing to lighten the sudden somber mood. "You know what? It's going to be okay." He grinned as Kakashi tilted his head like a curious baby bird. "Obito will get over it. He's a good guy, really. And since you don't need these extra lessons, I'll be out of your hair."

Kakashi ducked his head and ran a hand through the wild tumble of the aforementioned hair. "Well, I was thinking about that. The stuff I know is mostly kind of illegal. And you know more of the more... _acceptable_ spells. I'd like to learn those." He glanced at Iruka out of the corner of his eye. "To pass exams."

"Oh!" Iruka hoped that the pleasure he felt didn't shine too much in his face. "That would be brilliant, Kakashi."

Kakashi gave him a very contemplative glance and then slid off the desk. He knelt down and took up an armful of books which had been placed on the ground.

"Okay," he said and let the books fall onto the desk with a heavy thud. He adjusted his scarf so it obscured his lower face again. "Shall we begin?"

He smiled and Iruka began to wonder when he'd learned what a smile from behind Kakashi's scarf looked like. 

+

 **The end (of the year)**  
 **  
**Iruka sat in a little dining area just to the left of the Headmaster Sarutobi's desk, carefully sipping a very large mug of tea. The table was small and round, and prone to nervous shivering now and again. Professor Namikaze had to keep rescuing the muffins from falling off the edge, and eventually did a Sticking charm to fasten the bowl to the table. Auror Hatake sat beside the Headmaster, eyeing the mismatched tea set with the same suspicious air Kakashi had when faced with a new kind of pudding for dinner. Iruka thought it was cute that Kakashi had such fixed eating habits.

"How's the study group going, Iruka?" Professor Namikaze asked with a small smile. Iruka let out an inaudible sigh; now at the end of the term, nearly everyone was going out of their minds, torn between the crisp promise of winter holidays and the threat of exams. Iruka's study group had swelled to nearly four times its size, with people flipping through their notebooks with cries of, "Wait, _when did we learn this_?"

"It's going well, sir," was all Iruka said.

"I must say that I've noticed a marked change in Kakashi," the Headmaster said and took a very large bite out of a muffin. "He seems...well, far less given to apathy!"

Professor Namikaze nodded. "I must agree. He is exceedingly bright," and he nodded at Auror Hatake as if congratulating him on this particular feat, "but I think he's actually having some fun."

" _Fun_." Auror Hatake pronounced the word as if he'd never heard it before. "Hmm."

"What is it, Sakumo?" The Headmaster turned a very bright gaze on the Head Auror.

"Kakashi contacted me a few weeks ago," Auror Hatake said, moving his spoon an inch to the left and back again. "He invited me to Hogsmeade for lunch."

Iruka remembered that particular Saturday; he'd offered to go with Kakashi, maybe sit in the pub at another table, but his suggestion had been gently refused. Iruka had watched from one of the main balconies as Kakashi had set off for Hogsmeade with his hair blowing in the cool wind. Iruka had wondered if this was some ploy on his friend's part to unsettle his father; he still had the idea that the Auror was spying on him, and nothing Iruka said would change his mind. For such a clever person, Kakashi carried a deeply mistrustful streak, and Iruka had just learned to roll with it.

"And how was it?" Professor Sarutobi slurped at his tea, the intensity of his stare unwavering as it remained fixed on Auror Hatake.

A slight frown pulled at Auror Hatake's brow. "It was...good. We talked." The Auror huffed quietly, and a faint smile warmed his frosty expression. "He _is_ exceedingly bright. I am proud of him."

"I hope you told him so," Iruka's mouth let out without Iruka's permission. He folded his lips in as Auror Hatake turned a hard stare in his direction.

"I _did_ tell him," Auror Hatake said in sharp, crisp tones, in the manner of one proving a case. Iruka hid his grin. That was exactly how Kakashi spoke when he felt he was absolutely right and refused to let anyone tell him otherwise. If Iruka told him how much like his father he was, Kakashi would probably give him a fantastic glare.

Iruka said, "I'm glad, sir," and took a bite of muffin with a greater glee than was probably necessary. 

Those few months ago, when he'd told Kakashi it was all going to be all right, he'd been comforted by his own conviction. Indeed, Obito could never hold a grudge for any amount of time and before long, he'd gone back to sitting beside Kakashi, chatting his ear off about Quidditch. Haro and a bunch of other first-years wanted to learn the card tricks that Kakashi did, and as a prefect Iruka faced an upsurge in Magician kits, and a general increase in interest for all things Muggle. 

After the little tea in the Headmaster's office, Iruka hurried towards his Potions class, the last one for the year. He managed to make it before Professor Uzumaki's massive charmed quill scrawled information on the large parchment she used over her board.

"Sorry," he said to Konan as he noted that she'd done most of the prep-work: laying out the stirrers and making sure the cauldrons were spotless. 

"That's alright." Konan peered at the Professor's chalk scrawling on the board by itself and nodded at the instructions. "Could you slice up the fermented newt eye?"

"Yeah, sure."

All through the class, Iruka tried hard not to stare at Kakashi, who worked at a station across the aisle and two tables ahead. At this angle, Iruka easily saw the line of his jaw; the slender shape of his fingers as he chopped and stirred; and the way his cheek moved above his scarf when he smiled at his Ravenclaw partner. Iruka noticed things like that about Kakashi all the time; it was simultaneously unsettling and exciting.

"Boy troubles?" Konan asked as she slowly moved her stirring rod in an anticlockwise direction. "Or...girl troubles?"

Iruka frowned a little, even as he counted off her stirs. "...three, two, and that's the last one. What are you talking about?" He turned to give her a confused scowl and wrinkled his nose at the secretive smile on her face.

"It's just that, I know that expression you have on your face nowadays." Konan checked the flames under their cauldron. "It's the expression someone has when they're looking, and the person they're looking at isn't seeing them."

Iruka felt numb, and he swallowed hard. If Konan could see that, maybe _everyone_ could. Or, at the very least, _Kakashi_ would be able to.

"Want to talk about it?" Konan asked, looking in his face with her eyes wide. Iruka hoped the blood had drained back into his face and shook his head.

"Not yet," he told her and offered what was apparently a very ghastly smile. judging from the way Konan pursed her lips. "Thanks, Konan."

"Okay." She patted his arm and they finished their potion. Iruka spent most of the day arranging his face into a stony cast, for his father had obviously been right all these years in telling him that his entire visage was an open book. Other students stared at him as he stomped his way around school, and when he finally ended up in the packed library, his face felt exhausted.

He had no idea how Auror Hatake kept _that_ up for so long.

"I can't think," Kurenai grumbled as Iruka took his seat across from her. The atmosphere in the library bubbled with tension, and the constant murmuring did seem to be a distraction. Iruka glanced to a table directly on his right, which Kakashi shared with Obito, Kotetsu and Izumo. Kakashi caught his eye and gave him a smile, slow and warm. Iruka smiled back, helplessly; the swarm of moths, which existed only in Kakashi's presence, attacked the insides of his stomach again.

"I'm not sure if I can focus either," Iruka said, watching Kakashi point out something in his book to Obito. If he sat facing Kakashi like this for the rest of the evening, he'd probably comprehend only three words out of ten.

Rin shut her book in a very decisive fashion. "We're taking a break," she declared firmly. "You know what? We're going flying."

Obito swiveled around, his face brightening. "Flying, you say?"

Iruka found himself being dragged by Konan and Kurenai, down numerous flights of stairs and across the lawns of the school, heading towards the smaller training pitch. He was sure he protested, but it was drowned out by the giddy laughter of people who looked forward to escaping the tedium of studying. He held back as Obito pulled out a pile of brooms from the storage-shed and his friends took off to the air, hollering as they spun and flittered. Other people wandered out: Iruka spotted Bee and Guy racing with Asuma and Anko, their breaths puffing from between their lips as they goaded each other. Iruka tugged his robes more tightly around himself, for though it wasn't quite yet dusk, the air was crisp. Kurenai had a blissful expression on her face as she hovered near to the ground, sailing past Iruka like a content canoe on a serene river. Even Ebisu seemed less dour as he executed a few small loop-de-loops.

"Iruka," Kakashi's voice said from behind him, and Iruka whirled around to see him holding two brooms. He held one out. "Here, take this one."

"Well, the thing is--" Iruka started.

"He doesn't like to fly!" Obito brayed out as he zoomed past. "He hates it!"

Kakashi appeared stunned, maybe for the first time since Iruka had met him. "You.. _hate_ flying?"

"I don't hate it," Iruka said and pursed his lips for a moment. "It's just that I'm not very good at it."

Kakashi let out an incredulous chuckle. "Something _you're_ not good at? Oh, Professor Umino, what a surprise."

"Shut it," Iruka grumbled, but his mouth twitched into a smile. Kakashi shook his head, still grinning. He trotted back to the storage shed and returned one of the brooms. He set the other one to floating, and adjusted the leg-rests: not that extreme angle for match-flying, but more for an ordinary, stroll-like pace. When Kakashi mounted the broom, Iruka didn't expect him to fly right over, patting the space in front of him in a coaxing fashion.

"You can't be serious." Iruka narrowed his eyes and Kakashi's shoulders shook with quiet laughter.

"I am. Get on, Prof."

"Yeah, get on!" Obito shrieked as he passed overhead again. Iruka sighed, and gathered his robes in closer to himself as he settled on, sitting sideways on the broom, the cushioning charm molding to his body. Kakashi's arms went around him, gripping the stick of the broom tightly on Iruka's other side. Iruka was almost in his lap, tucked into the space between Kakashi's spread thighs. He felt his neck warm, influenced by the heat of Kakashi's body so close to his. 

This was...possibly a very bad idea.

"Lean back on my arm," Kakashi advised as they rose in the air. "I can handle it. Relax, won't you?"

"I'm relaxed," Iruka gritted out and held his legs stiffly so they wouldn't swing back and forth. "We're a bit high, aren't we?"

"Not really!" Kakashi said with a laugh. "Come on, Iruka, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," Iruka answered almost automatically and the blush which had been threatening his cheeks finally won. "Um. You're a fantastic flier."

"I am," Kakashi agreed in a very low tone, his breath brushing Iruka's ear. He kept the pace slow at first, maneuvering in wide easy arcs until Iruka began to loosen, his back cradled against the line of Kakashi's arm. After some internal debate, Iruka wormed his closest hand out and placed around Kakashi's waist, gripping the back of his robes.

After a few moments of quiet ambling, Kakashi kicked back the footrests, said, "Right, hold on," and took off at a far greater speed. Iruka let out a shout of surprise, now clutching to Kakashi with _both_ hands; he may have screamed as Kakashi tilted the broom to one side, and then began some complicated moves. Iruka had _no idea_ what they were called, except that there were quite a lot of them. There was no moment in which he felt that Kakashi would let him fall.

He heard himself laughing like a loon, Kakashi chucking as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see Obito and Kotetsu imitating the aerial dance; it was probably some kind of training sequence.

"I haven't heard Iruka laugh like that since we pranked Slytherin in second year!" Kotetsu called out when they finished, back to the easy flying again. "Remember that, Iruka? With the greasy paint?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Iruka set his expression into one of curious interest; he was a prefect now, after all. "What paint?"

Obito's laughter was loud and mocking, echoing over the small pitch. "Kakashi, this bloke had a prank every week. And the worst part is, while the rest of us were following him into trouble, he _still_ got good grades!"

"Oh my," Kakashi put in, laughter threading his voice. "So naughty, Professor."

"Up to now we're not sure how he got prefect." Kotetsu mused, and chuckled at Iruka's faux-glower. "Oh, alright. He reformed after third year."

"There was nothing to reform," Iruka declared, nose in the air. Well, he _had_ gotten detention for convincing the poor house-elves into washing the Slytherin Quidditch uniforms with an oily compound of red and orange dye, and that had been the last time he'd pulled something like that. Truthfully, he had been just as shocked as everyone else to be named as a prefect in fifth year. After the surprise had worn off, he found he'd been good at it; at the very least, he'd been able to spot the makings of practical jokes from a mile away.

"I like thinking of you as incorrigible," Kakashi mused. The others began to land, talking animatedly as they stacked the brooms in the shed and headed back to the castle. Kakashi went on flying; for a person who had been known to fall off his broom more often than not, Iruka actually enjoyed being in the air right now. Being in the cradle of Kakashi's arms had a lot to do with it.

"My mother says hello," Kakashi informed him and Iruka turned his head around. He hadn't realised their faces would have been set so close; thankfully, Kakashi didn't look in his eyes, but kept his gaze locked ahead as they continued to fly. "I've been writing her back. Told her about you."

"Oh, that's…nice?" Iruka bit his lower lip. "I'm glad that you're writing to her."

Kakashi huffed. "Yeah, she's a criminal, but she's still my mother." He remained quiet for a few beats before speaking again. "She's happy that I'm getting along well in school. Not so happy that I was sorted into Gryffindor, but there's that. She and my dad were both in Slytherin."

"My folks, too! Well, they were in Ravenclaw, but they couldn't _believe_ I'd been sorted into Gryffindor." Iruka chuckled over the memory of his parents' disbelieving fire-call.

"The Hat told me that I could be in any house I wanted," Kakashi shared, stopping at one end of the pitch and turning carefully to head for the other side. "I was thinking I didn't really _care_ , and then I looked at you."

Iruka swallowed. He stared at the side of Kakashi's face, not sure what to say. "Are you going to the House mixer at the end of the term?" he blurted as they slowed down, because apparently he had no control over his mouth when he felt this nervous. 

Kakashi brought the broom to complete halt, but neither of them made a move to dismount. "It depends," he murmured and he tilted his head. Iruka licked his lips and felt a thrill flash under his skin as Kakashi's gaze flickered to his mouth.

"Depends on what?" Iruka whispered.

"On if you ask me."

Iruka leaned forward. He tugged down the ever-present scarf and brushed his lips against Kakashi's, hesitant until he felt a sigh against his mouth and Kakashi kissed him back. Iruka groaned when Kakashi's tongue stroked against his almost shyly, and he grasped handfuls of Kakashi's robes, wanting more. He snuggled closer and licked his way into Kakashi's mouth, one hand pressed almost possessively at the back of Kakashi's neck. The hovering broom wobbled.

Kakashi adjust his loosened grip on the broom and pulled back, breathing hard. The colour in his cheeks was high, and his stare was bright as he gazed on Iruka's face.

“Will you go the House Mixer with me?” Iruka asked as Kakashi put one foot on the ground to stabilize the shimmy of the broom. He had to glance down to check the footrest’s angle on that side and in that moment Iruka gazed at the side of his face, at the tiny, sweet smile which tugged at the corners of his mouth, still kiss-swollen. Iruka couldn’t help himself: as soon as Kakashi raised his head again, he ducked in to reclaim his mouth, deeper and more desperate. He moulded himself right against Kakashi’s chest, tasting the light moan in his mouth. Iruka’s head spun as much as it did when Kakashi had him up in the air.

Iruka reluctantly pulled back, electrified with pleasure as Kakashi chased after his mouth for a few quick pecks.

"Sure, Professor, if you insist," Kakashi murmured said in a breathless attempt at nonchalance, and laughed outright when Iruka pinched him in the arm.

_fin_


End file.
